Political System @ Korea

GOVERNMENT SYSTEM OF SOUTH KOREA

SOUTH KOREAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

South Korea has a liberal democratic political system. The political system is like the one in the United States. The powers of the government are divided into three parts so that there is proper distribution of responsibilities and duties. There are separation of powers among three branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative.

Two branches operate on the national level; the executive and legislate branch. While the judicial, operates at both national and local levels. South Korea also has a constitution, namely the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.

SOUTH KOREA POLITICAL HIERARCHY

South Korea follows a republican form of government in which the President is the Chief of the State and the Prime Minister is the Head of Government. Like other democracies, the citizens of the nature vote for their leaders and a proper hierarchical structure is followed both on state and central level.

President

The executive branch is headed by the President. The president in South Korea has a five-year term. Under the Constitution in South Korea, a president cannot be reelected for a second term. The President of the Republic of Korea (Daetongryeong) is the chairperson of the cabinet, the chief executive of the government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the head of state of South Korea. The president in South Korea plays many roles and duties. The president is given the powers:

as the head of the executive branch of government

as the commander-in-chief of the South Korean military

• to declare war
• to hold referendum regarding issues of national importance
• to issue executive orders
• to issue medals in honor of service for the nation
• to issue pardons
• to declare a state of emergency suspending all laws or enacting a state of martial law
• to veto bills (subject to a two thirds majority veto override by the National Assembly)

Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (Gungmuchongni) is appointed by the President of South Korea, with the National Assembly's approval. The officeholder is not required to be a member of the National Assembly. The Prime Minister is not the head of government but rather serves in a role similar to that of a vice president.

The Legislature

The National Assembly possess all of the legislative power. The legislative branch of the government is the second leg which is responsible for making rules, laws and regulations. This branch consists of the unicarmel national assembly and the members of this assembly are selected for a four year term.  There are a total of 299 members in this assembly out of which 243 members belong to a single seat constituency and 56 of them are elected by proportional representation. Other important matters they oversee are annual budgets, matters related to foreign-relations, declaration of war and impeachment.

The Executive

The executive branch of the political system in South Korea is the most important branch, one which the major duties and responsibilities.  This branch is headed by the president, followed closely by the prime minister and then the cabinet.  The following is a detailed hierarchy of the executive of South Korea.

1. The President-head of state
2. The Prime Minister-head of government, appointed by the President
3. The Cabinet-headed by the Prime Minister
4. The Deputy Prime Minister-appointed by the President
5. The State Council-appointed by the President on advice of the Prime Minister and comes within the Cabinet

The Judiciary

The Judiciary in the nation of South Korea is not dependent on the other two legs. Three major courts form the Judiciary and they are the Supreme Court, the Appellate court and the constitutional court.  The Supreme Court is the highest law enforcing body in the country and the justices of this court are appointed by the President himself.

1. The Supreme court
2. The Appellate court
3. The Constitutional court

 References 

J. Michels. (March 2017). Government System of South Korea. Scribd Inc. retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/343457952/south-korea-political-system

South Korea Political Hierarchy. HierarchyStructure. Retrieved from https://www.hierarchystructure.com/south-korea-political-hierarchy/